Tacos de birria is an age-old Mexican dish that is savory and a delight for your Insta feed! We are not kidding, but if you are looking for a flavorful dish that sends a blast of spicy flavors and melts as soon as you put it inside your mouth, tacos de birria is the answer.
Of course, the traditional method takes hours to prepare this wholesome, drool-worthy comfort fare, but the instant pot birria recipe we have come up with will make the wait time much less than you can anticipate.
Great for special occasions like weddings, quinceaneras, anniversaries, or christenings, you can also invigorate your taste buds with tacos de birria any other day, just because you feel like it! We bet you won’t be able to stop making it once you learn how to make homemade birria tacos – it’s THAT easy!
All About Tacos de Birria
Birria de tacos is a delicious Mexican cuisine that originated in the 16th century in Jalisco and has been consumed since then. It is now that trends have popularized this recipe. Slow-cooker birria tacos may take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to make (and you have to marinate the meat overnight), but if you crave homemade tacos de birria anytime during the week or weekend when there isn’t much time in your hand, here’s the recipe for making them in an instant pot in less than a fraction of the time.
But before you proceed, know what you should expect regarding texture and taste. As you can expect with tacos, there will be a certain degree of crunchiness, followed by a chewy cheese burst that gives the feel of melting whole inside the mouth.
Feel the taste of heaven exploding inside your mouth as you come to terms with the variation of a tinge of the spicy inside, owing to the beef birria.
Requirements for Making Homemade Instant Pot Tacos de Birria
If you are one of the few people who feel like the authentic version of this Mexican appetizer can only be availed at a Mexican food joint, wait till you read this.
Tacos de birria is a luscious evening snack that needs several ingredients to make from scratch. However, all the ingredients can be easily sourced from your local superstore or fresh from the farmer’s market. It may not be something you can whip up in a few minutes, but it can make for a weeknight dinner. Below is a quick list of everything you need to arrange before making birria de tacos at home.
Ingredients for Beef Birria
Items Required | Quantity |
Meat | 3 pounds 1 pound |
3 cups | |
Chiles
| 3 3 1 |
1-2 teaspoons | |
½-1 teaspoon | |
4 tablespoons | |
2 | |
1 | |
1 ½ teaspoons | |
Plum tomato (chopped) | 1 |
Spanish onion (diced) | 1 |
6 cloves | |
¼ teaspoon (or a pinch) | |
Coriander (chopped) | 1 teaspoon |
2-4 | |
2 teaspoons | |
2 tablespoons | |
Water | 1 cup |
Ingredients for Tacos
Items Required | Quantity |
8-12 | |
Olive oil (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Grated cheese (Monterey Jack or Oaxaca or Mozzarella) | 1 cup |
White onion (chopped) | 1 |
Cilantro (chopped) | 1 |
1 |
Tools
Preparing Homemade Birria Tacos
Now that you have all the ingredients, here’s a quick guide to “How to make tacos de birria” in an instant pot.
Step 1: Prepare the Meat
Cut the pieces of meat into smaller chunks as it makes the cooking faster and helps absorb the flavors and spices better. But you can omit this step if you want to. It would be best if you broke it down into smaller pieces at the end of the preparation.
Marinate the meat with salt and pepper and set it aside. You can also use cumin, coriander powder, and oregano sprinkle to season the meat. Rub the marinade evenly along the entire piece or pieces of meat.
Step 2: Prepare the Seasoning for the Broth
Add three tablespoons of olive oil, turn on your instant pot’s “Saute” mode, and let it heat to “High.” Once the oil has warmed up, add the diced onion and let it saute for 2-3 minutes until it turns a golden brown. Add the guajillo chiles (the amount should depend on how spicy you want your tacos de birria to be).
Once you get the fragrance of the roasted chiles, add the other spices and herbs one after the other, including cumin, chopped coriander, ground oregano, ground cloves, bay leaves, and two thyme sprigs. When they are fried to a moderate amount, and you can smell the aroma, take them out of the instant pot in a separate bowl.
Add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to this bowl and keep aside. The vinegar will allow better absorption of the seasoning into the broth.
Step 3: Sear the Meat and Prepare the Broth
Place the seasoned beef on the instant pot and sear both sides while the instant pot is still in Saute Mode and heat on “High.” An approximate time of 4 minutes for each side should work perfectly fine for the meat to brown equally. Keep the meat aside.
Take out the stems and seeds from the ancho chiles and Chile de Arbol. Bring the heat level of the instant pot to “Medium” in the Saute mode. Add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Add the deveined ancho chiles and chile de arbol to the boiling water. Boil them for about 3-5 minutes with the lid closed until the fragrance develops.
Step 4: Prepare the Beef Birria
Deglaze the inner surface of the pot using a wooden spoon and add 3 cups of beef broth. To this, add the seasoning you had prepared in Step 2. Also, add the cinnamon stick, chopped tomatoes, garlic cloves, and the remaining thyme sprigs.
Close the instant pot lid securely and switch on the “Manual” mode or the “Pressure Cooker” mode. Change the settings to “High” Mode again and set the timer for 50 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.
Step 5: The Final Touch
After the beef birria has been prepared, separate the meat and the birria broth. Shred the beef using two forks. Moisten if needed with 1 or 2 tablespoons of the broth. For the liquid that has been separated, use an immersion blender to mix the powdered contents (if any).
Pour the puree through a fine mesh strainer and discard the contents left behind in the filter. This is the final birria broth, and you can add a few drops of lime juice to it for enhanced taste and flavor.
Step 6: Prepare Tacos de Birria
Warm the cast-iron skillet and heat one tablespoon of olive oil. Use kitchen tongs to dip tortillas into the birria broth so that the tortillas are fully coated with the savory liquid. If the broth drips considerably from the tortillas, use a slotted spoon to place it on the skillet. Fry the tortilla on the skillet and arrange the shredded beef on one-half side of the tortilla.
Repeat the process for as many tortillas as you need. Add grated cheese and let it melt. Place chopped onions and cilantro over it and cover half with the empty tortilla. In simple words, fold the tortilla into half (DO NOT flip it!).
Step 7: Serve
Now that your tacos de birria are ready grab a serving plate and serve them with a side of the birria broth and lime wedges. You can also add a few chopped onion pieces, cilantro, and sprigs of rosemary and thyme.
A cheese dip, guacamole, Mexican black beans, cilantro lime rice, Mexican street corn salad, homemade salsa, and roasted sweet potatoes are excellent accompaniments for these homemade tacos de birria. Serve hot to get the perfect flavor out of this dish that everyone will relish and ask for a second serving!
Alternatives for Ingredients
- Beef Chuck Roast – You can use goat meat or pork for preparing tacos de birria.
- Beef Broth – Use homemade beef stock or chicken broth instead of beef broth. You can also use beef bouillon cubes to obtain a flavor similar to beef broth.
- Chiles – Use chipotle chiles in adobo sauce if you cannot source the different varieties within the given time.
- Olive Oil – Use unsalted butter or other vegetable oil to saute the spices and fry the tacos. Avocado oil is a great substitute, too.
- Plum Tomato – Use any tomato.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – Use white vinegar or white wine as a substitute.
- Corn Tortillas – Use flour tortillas as a last resort, especially because the flour ones are thinner and may not hold up the beef birria.
Essential Points to Adhere While Preparing Tacos de Birria
Birria de tacos are a wholesome and flavorful dish and have gained recent popularity because of their taste and the ease with which they can be made. And here are a few points that will amp up the flavor of your tacos de birria.
- Tacos de birria is quintessentially a medium-spicy to a spicy dish. And as you have understood by now, the different types of chiles add up to the taste of this dish. Try sourcing them fresh. Adjust the quantity according to the resilience level of your taste buds.
- When preparing the birria broth, here are two things you can do. Add water to dilute the puree if it feels too thick, or add tomato puree or tomato sauce to thicken it if it gets too much slurry.
- Combining boneless chuck roast and bone-in beef pieces gives a pleasant feel to the palate, thanks to the crunchy feel and the soft, tender meat.
- For cheese, use ones that melt easily. The more it melts, the more it spreads, and the better it tastes. Who does not love a great cheese pull, be it for the reels or the taste cells?
- You can rehydrate the dried chiles in cold water, but leave them overnight.
- Sauteing the spices is unnecessary, but it adds flavor to the dish.
- Do not skimp on the chiles, spices, and herbs when preparing tacos de birria.
Serving Count
The above-given recipe for homemade tacos de birria would yield around 10-12 tacos. Serving each guest two tacos makes for the perfect serving, so you can calculate the number of tacos you need to prepare when you know the exact number of people you will be hosting.
The beef birria is a bit heavy, so you know it will serve as a fulfilling snack that will surely draw compliments for you and satiate your appetite and taste buds.
Storing Tips and Tricks
The first and most important pointer in this aspect would be NEVER to store tacos de birria. The tortillas will dampen over time and feel flabby and chewy to taste despite the reheating time. They may become smelly, too.
You can (and should do) store the beef birria and the broth separately in airtight containers, and they should be perfectly good to use for up to 3 days.
You can freeze them too and for up to 4 months! So the next time you’re in a really good mood and want to cook to relieve stress, make your tacos de birria (sans the tacos) and store it for those unexpected guest arrivals.
Assemble the tacos 5 minutes before you ask your guests to sit at the dining table. Reheat the preserved birria in the microwave or a preheated cast iron skillet.
Homemade Birria de Tacos: Yay or Nay?
Unlike any other delicacy, tacos de birria is a satisfying meal that gives the perfect kick to your taste buds while also going easy on the one preparing it.
Given the recipe, we hope that now you understand the why and the how. This dish is equally favored by all ethnicities, irrespective of their origin.
The unique mix of spices, combined with the play of different chile flavors, imparts a distinct aroma that is hard to ignore. How do you make your tacos de birria? Would you like to try this method? Let us know your answer and the reason.
Also, do not forget to comment whether you liked it or not and what compliments you received from your guests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Tacos de Birria Spicy?
Yes. The traditional Mexican birria tacos are spicy. But when you make it at home, you can adjust the spicy level according to your taste and convenience. Use chile flakes on your tacos as garnish if you want to make your beef birria mildly spicy but don’t want to miss out on the flavor.
What Do You Do with Birria Broth?
Birria broth is a great and simple side dish for tacos de birria. Even if you serve it without other accompaniment, it will still be classified as a complete meal. Apart from that, you can use birria broth as stock for preparing other main course meals like rice casseroles, beans, or matzo balls and infuse the distinct flavor of the broth in those dishes.
Can You Use Bouillon as Broth?
Yes, you can use beef bouillon as a substitute for beef broth. Boil one cube in about 8 ounces of water. Generally, one bouillon cube yields one cup of beef broth. Beef broth is generally slightly milder in flavor than beef bouillon, so do not overdo it on bouillon cubes.
